Craig Jones announces $2 million tournament on same weekend as ADCC

Craig Jones has introduced that the Craig Jones Invitational will happen on August 16-17 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Craig Jones’ plans for a large grappling match with the most important prize cash ever seen within the sport appear to be very actual.

On Thursday, the Australian fan-favorite introduced that the Craig Jones Invitational will happen from Friday, August 16 to Saturday, August 17 in Las Vegas – the identical weekend because the 2024 ADCC World Championships, that are scheduled for August 17-18, additionally in Las Vegas. 

Hailed as “the best paying grappling occasion in historical past,” Jones has indicated that the occasion will include two 16-grappler males’s divisions – beneath and above 80 kg – with bracket winners taking house $1 million in prize cash. 

What’s extra, he has indicated that each athlete will obtain $10,001 for competing. By comparability, male division winners at ADCC obtain $10,000. Feminine ADCC champions obtain $6,000.

Per a earlier Instagram publish from Jones, he has acquired the Thomas & Mack Heart as a venue – the identical venue that hosted the 2022 ADCC World Championships.

Within the feedback of the Instagram publish asserting the occasion, Jones acknowledged that the CJI will air totally free on YouTube.

Earlier this 12 months, Jones made waves in the grappling community by brazenly criticizing the ADCC’s pay construction, stating that the low pay was a motivating issue for him declining the invitation to compete on the 2024 ADCC World Championships. His scheduling of the CJI on the identical weekend as ADCC will likely be a major blow to the occasion that’s frequently described because the “Olympics of grappling.”

There have but to be any rivals introduced for the CJI, nevertheless it’s seemingly that the occasion will draw many, if not most, of the game’s prime male athletes away from ADCC.